Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont did not mince words when describing the all-hands Senate meeting at the White House on Wednesday, including the reason behind his decisision not to attend.

“I did not want to be part of a road-show for the White House,” Sanders said to MSNBC’s Chris Hayes during an interview on “All In with Chris Hayes.”

In what was also described as a “dog-and-pony show” by members of the Senate, Sanders lambasted the decision to hold the meeting in what is traditionally held in a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility — a secure room of the congressional building devoid of any “cyber-security issues.”

“These highly classified briefings always take place in what is called the SCIF room in the Congress,” said Sanders. “What I did not want to be, is part of a photo opportunity or a political effort on the part of the White House.”